An Annual Rite in Philadelphia:Hornbeck Duels State Over Budget

Philadelphia school leaders opened a new front last week in their
crusade for more money, filing a federal lawsuit alleging that
Pennsylvania's education finance system violates the civil rights of
children in predominantly nonwhite districts.

The case, brought against Gov. Tom Ridge and state education
officials, is part of a hardball strategy by district Superintendent
David W. Hornbeck to wrest millions of dollars more from the state
legislature.

The district has proposed a $1.5 billion budget for the next school
year that includes $85 million more in state aid than the governor is
willing to pay.

Mr. Hornbeck is refusing to cut the budget to make up the shortfall,
and has warned that the schools would have to shut down--probably in
the spring of next year--if that money does not come through.

"We're fighting this thing on every front and with every weapon at
our disposal," Mr. Hornbeck said last week. "We're just not going to
back down."

That ruling by Commonwealth Court Judge James R. Kelley said the
legislature had met its obligations to set up a "thorough and
efficient" public education system. It also said policymakers and not
the court must define what constitutes an adequate education and how
much money is needed to provide it.

Gov. Ridge, a Republican who says Philadelphia gets more than its
fair share of funding, hailed the ruling. Mr. Hornbeck, by contrast,
called it a shock. The city schools chief said he expected the district
to appeal.

David Sciarra, a lawyer in neighboring New Jersey who has led a
successful fight there for more funding for poor city schools, said the
ruling puts Philadelphia students at a disadvantage compared with those
across the Delaware River in Camden.

"You have this ironic situation," he said. "In New Jersey, the
courthouse doors are open, but in Pennsylvania, they've now been
slammed shut."

Multiple Challenges

Meanwhile, the state's school funding system is under attack from
other directions. One challenge has arisen as part of Philadelphia's
27-year-old school desegregation lawsuit, which is now pending before
the state supreme court.

Another is coming from a coalition of small and rural districts that
wants the funding formula invalidated in state court.

In the federal suit filed last week, the Philadelphia district
contends that Pennsylvania's funding system violates Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial or ethnic
discrimination by entities receiving federal funds.

"Having lost on their argument that the system is unconstitutional,
now they are alleging that it's racist," said Tim Reeves, a spokesman
for Gov. Ridge. "That is a very troubling and offensive
allegation."

The suit cites spending gaps both between Philadelphia schools and
its suburbs and between school systems that are mainly minority and
those with majority-white enrollments. When districts with similar
poverty levels are compared, the suit says, per-pupil spending declines
as the proportion of minority enrollment rises.

The case, filed by the district, the city, and various other
plaintiffs, says state financial support for mostly minority districts
has eroded since 1991-92 because of changes in the funding formula.

Attacking a state's school finance system under Title VI is unusual
but not unprecedented. In New York state, for example, a pending
lawsuit argues that the system there violates both the federal civil
rights law and the state's constitution by shortchanging schools in New
York City.

Patricia A. Brannan, a lawyer with the Washington law firm of Hogan
& Hartson, said she thought the Philadelphia suit was the first
such challenge in federal court, however.

On the day the suit was filed, Mr. Hornbeck said in city budget
hearings that the district could no longer "play the charade" of making
do with substandard state revenues. He said his efforts to reform the
district since 1995 will be in vain without greater resources.

Moreover, he said, the state's funding formula must change to
address a range of big-ticket items that city schoolchildren will need
in the coming years, including summer school, more after-school
programs, and smaller class sizes.

Web Only

Related Stories

Our special report "Quality Counts '98"
contains a comprehensive overview of the challenges facing urban school
districts in Pennsylvania,
including Philadelphia, the nation's sixth-largest school
district.
For background, previous stories, and Web links, see our Issues Page on
School Finance.

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